The London art scene is massive and overwhelming. Out of hundreds of galleries and thousand of people who work in them, how do you know where to go and who to listen to?
We asked a few hundred art professionals, curators, and artists to name their favourite galleries and we came up with a list of 70. Luckily for us, many museums and galleries were available for interviews. This interview was conducted in 2015, it took a year to publish because it turns out it’s a lot harder to liaison with 70 galleries and their PR agencies than we originally expected. All the anachronisms were kept to illustrate just how fast paced the London gallery scene is, some people we interviewed no longer work at the same galleries, and some galleries no longer exist in the same form they did last year.
We wanted to share the knowledge with as many art professionals as we could so we are sharing 20 condensed interviews with Fad’s readers. The full lengths interviews are available in the book ‘Who to Know in London?’
Katharine Heron is the second interview out of the series of 20.
Ambika p3 Photo credit: Mary Ashton Ellis
How did you pick the name of your gallery?
P3 is the name of the level below ground. P stands for Podium and it is 3 storeys below ground. P3 is the button on the lift. We received sponsorship from the Ambika Paul Foundation who donated funds during the first four years, and this added Ambika to the name.
Tell us about your background and how you become appointed to your current position?
I am Professor of Architecture and recent Head of the School of Architecture. I am the founder of the project and initiated its use as a multipurpose project space usable for exhibitions and events. Michael Maziere is the founding Curator and is a Reader in Film and Video.
How do you select artists for exhibitions?
The most important criteria is how the work responds to the space. We seek exhibitions that also link to the research interests of the University.
Where do you find your artists?
There is no single way but we seek artists/architects with a Westminster connection and artists who will work well with the space. We work with other organisations including commercial galleries who would like to develop an exhibition in partnership.
